On Saturday afternoon, the men’s soccer team continued its unbeaten streak shut with a 2-0 shutout of Tufts at home. The Cardinals currently sit at the top of the NESCAC standings, tied with Trinity and Williams, all of which have a 2-0-1 conference record. Wesleyan is 3-0-2 overall. The men will only see home-field advantage three more times in the regular season, the next match on Jackson Field coming in more than a week.
The Cards, who began the week ranked seventh in New England, had only one shot in the first half of the game, but they made it count. Asante Brooks ’10 scored a low goal in the 13th minute off of a pass from tri-captain Nick Whipple ’10. Tufts, on the other hand, had five shots—three of which were on net—but no success. The Jumbos had a golden opportunity to score early in the first, getting a shot at an open net after a misplay in the box, but defender Harrison Lewin ’12 rushed in and kicked the ball out of bounds to avert the threat, and the Cardinals took a 1-0 lead over the Jumbos to halftime.
Determined to change the pace of the game in the second half, Wesleyan took the field as a new team. Just over seven and a half minutes into the frame, Whipple notched his own goal after a centering pass from Walter Rodriguez ’13. The men had seven shots in the half and held Tufts to three.
“It was truly a tale of two halves,” said head coach Geoff Wheeler. “We played poorly in the first stanza but managed to be ahead off a good goal from [Brooks]. In the second half, we played well and scored just once despite creating several very good chances.”
“The first half we didn’t attack the way we wanted to and we’re lucky to be ahead,” added Ian Waldron ’13. “[In the] second half we passed much more efficiently and created many better chances.”
Adam Purdy ’13 had another excellent showing in net, making four saves and allowing no goals for his third shutout of the season. The freshman plays like an experienced veteran, with a 0.38 goals-against average to complement a .905 save percentage. The Cardinal defense has also been a key reason that Wesleyan has only allowed two goals so far this year.
“Senior tri-captains Jory Kahan and Mark Murphy on the back line give us great leadership in our defending as a team,” commented Wheeler.
The Cards will travel to Wheaton College on Tuesday to challenge the team ranked fourth in New England at the beginning of the week. Over the weekend, Wesleyan will face off against Trinity in Hartford to fight for sole possession of the first place spot in the conference standings.